9/11 Ceremony In Denver Will Also Pay Tribute To Colorado First Responders

DENVER (CBS4) – Trucks carrying some pieces of steel from the World Trade Center in New York City will make their way through downtown Denver on Tuesday, the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks.

The steel will wind up in Civic Center Park, where a ceremony titled “Colorado Remembers 9/11” will take place at midday.

Between 2,000 and 5,000 people are expected at the event, which will feature remarks by John Elway of the Denver Broncos and a musical performance by Hazel Miller. The Colorado Children’s Chorale will also sing the national anthem. It has been 11 years since the the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and on a plane that crashed near Shanksville, Pa.

Colorado Remembers 9/11 takes place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will also feature a tribute to the victims and first responders of the Aurora movie shooting and the victims of this year’s devastating wildfires in Colorado and the firefighters who fought them.

“Today is about honoring people’s memories. The victims, certainly, of 9/11, as well as the Aurora tragedy and the Colorado wildland fires. But it’s also a day to pay tribute and honor our will to prevail — the extraordinary resiliency of not only our state as well as our nation in the face of tragedy is something we all want to honor,” said event spokeswoman Melanie Pearlman on the CBS4 Morning News.

Gov. John Hickenlooper, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates will be among the speakers at the event.